Supermoon: the best pictures and footage from across Britain

MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2015
The supermoon lit up the dark skies of Britain last night for the first time in 30 years. Here is exclusive footage from the 3am lunar event and some of the most stunning photographs.

Early risers were rewarded with a chance to see a stunning blood red "supermoon" in the skies above Britain for the first time in 30 years.

Historically the eerie light created from a lunar eclipse with the moon near to its closest point to the earth delighted amateur astronomers and photographers, while filling others with dread.

The event began from 1.10am in the UK, with the "total" phase - when the moon is completely in shadow - lasting from 3.11am to 4.24am. It was to go on all the way until the moon emerged from earth's shadow at 6.24am.

When the moon is at perigee, its shortest distance from the earth, it is 226,000 miles away and appears 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than when it is at its furthermost point.

The last time this coincided with a lunar eclipse, when the moon is covered by the earth's shadow, was in 1982 and the event will not be repeated until 2033.
During a lunar eclipse, the moon turns a deep rusty red, due to sunlight being scattered by earth's atmosphere.

Through the ages, so-called "blood moons" have been viewed as ill omens by superstitious people.

Dozens of amateur photographers posted their best efforts on social media, although those taking pictures on their phones were mostly disappointed.

Unlike with a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is completely safe to observe through binoculars or a small telescope.

Many believe this eclipse was significant as it marks the completion of an unusual line-up of four total eclipses at six-monthly intervals known as a "tetrad".

Texan pastor and author John Hagee says this has only happened three times in the past 500 years and claimed it is likely to herald a "hugely significant" world event.